Ok...Again I come to the experts for advice: I have an opportunity to purchase a treadle. I don't know which one I should choose... a Wheeler & Wilson, runs good, cabinet in fair shape, no attachments..$100.00. Or an Old Davis with a lot of attachments, veneer on top of cabinet is warped, runs good...$75.00..

Ok...Again I come to the experts for advice: I have an opportunity to purchase a treadle. I don't know which one I should choose... a Wheeler & Wilson, runs good, cabinet in fair shape, no attachments..$100.00. Or an Old Davis with a lot of attachments, veneer on top of cabinet is warped, runs good...$75.00..

both good machines - is the Davis a needle feed?

NEVER let a sewing machine know you are in a hurry.

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

Manicmike, I have to say, that is a pretty machine.
Sorry for the absence, trying to catch up on threads here. A Yahoo update has screwed up everything.

I would like to mention something that came to my attention recently. A woman asked her local SMG if he would work on her vintage machines. A 66 and a 201-2. He said that they were too old, and declined to take them in for maintenance. She found me (I think from QB) and I did the necessary work for her. She couldn't find anyone local to work on them. She drove 1.5 hours each way to drop them off and pick them up so, six hours drive time total. I have to admit, I felt bad about the drive time she had.
...
~G~

Still catching up from when I was out of town. I just have to point out that you should not feel bad about that drive time. Guess how far it is for most people to the nearest warranty service place for new Singers! I will spare you the details about why I know this, but I'm one of the luckier owners in that regard, only an hour from me. There are 3 in Texas. One on the opposite side of Houston from me, on in Dallas (but, wouldn't you know, at least an hour from my son's house). The other is in El Paso, which is hundreds of miles from almost everywhere else in TX, though it may be convenient to parts of NM. Out of curiosity, I looked up the warranty centers in Illinois just now, and there are 3 - all in the northern part of the state. Most people, to get warranty service, have to box and ship their machines, which is not cheap, and who's willing to bet these delicate items will survive the trip home after they're repaired! Yes, of course, insurance - but what a hassle! Your repair customer probably is (or should be) thankful to have found you within driving distance.

We're like a fair size town on QB, where everyone has sewing machines, and half a century ago that was the way things were almost everywhere in the developed world. But these days, they're not nearly as common, and not nearly as many people are looking for someone to fix a sewing machine. There just aren't enough of us to sustain the number of repair businesses that there used to be, so they're few and far between. This is not to say that the demand will die out any time soon, just that the ratio in the general population is way, way down.

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
~ Charles Kingsley

We're like a fair size town on QB, where everyone has sewing machines, and half a century ago that was the way things were almost everywhere in the developed world. But these days, they're not nearly as common, and not nearly as many people are looking for someone to fix a sewing machine. There just aren't enough of us to sustain the number of repair businesses that there used to be, so they're few and far between. This is not to say that the demand will die out any time soon, just that the ratio in the general population is way, way down.

The scarcity of repair shops isn't necessarily because of the lack of users of machines. There used to be sewing machine shops even in mid sized towns dotted across the country/world. To get the franchise or the training for the new machines is a HUGE investment. There are how ever quite a few back yard mechanics right here in our midst. I suspect there are back yard sewing machine mechanics all over the place, too. I'm teaching my grand children all I can - there will still be a use for sewing machines when I'm planted. Someone will have to fix them.

Speaking of DGKs. The youngest, Walter, pictured in my avatar, is mischief on legs. He loves to unthread sergers. He was watching as Miss L and Wilbur help me work on that machine (pictured) and I think he felt left out... He was caught red handed, he pulled the needle guard off his big sister's Spartan. The howl was heard directly to my house... He's too little yet but I think he might get to use a hand crank with no needle next time he is over. No screw driver for that one. No oil for that one.

NEVER let a sewing machine know you are in a hurry.

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

Oh dear of all the machines to unthread, the sergers! Hope Walter didn't hurt himself too badly. My three year old grandson asks to see my sewing machines every time he visits. Yesterday he asked to pump the treadle peddle for the first time. I can't tell you how many times I stopped it from spinning backwards. I may consider setting up a hand crank if he continues to show an interest.

Oh dear of all the machines to unthread, the sergers! Hope Walter didn't hurt himself too badly. My three year old grandson asks to see my sewing machines every time he visits. Yesterday he asked to pump the treadle peddle for the first time. I can't tell you how many times I stopped it from spinning backwards. I may consider setting up a hand crank if he continues to show an interest.

The steering wheel spinner works best for little kids. I let them sew on paper bags while their parents buy sewing machines. Yup Walter got hurt - momma spanked. But it didn't cure him for life. He's very interested in sewing machines and lots of thread - cool stuff that thread.

NEVER let a sewing machine know you are in a hurry.

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill